parrygripp (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
parrygripp) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bakerstreet2026-01-21 05:11 pm
parrygripp) wrote in bakerstreet2026-01-21 05:11 pm
listen to your heart 😌
"Can You Handle Your Emotions?"
Emotions are... eh. We all have them, whether we want to or not. Some people have control over their emotions, and some people let their emotions control them.
Where does your character fall on this spectrum?
More importantly, what's their relationship with their emotions like? Do they bury everything deep, deep down inside, or are they the first one to cry over a sappy movie? Do they even know how they feel about what's going on inside?
Pretty meta stuff.
- No blank top-levels.
- Instead, characters are to respond to the proposed question: can you handle your emotions? / are you in touch with your feelings?
- Get deep. Look within. Hear, think feel... or don't.
no subject
[And sits down, patting a space next to him.]
Do you have control over what you destroy?
[He thinks a little and --] Would you like me to summon Cerberus? This isn't a complete non-sequitur.
no subject
[She grins and walks to sit down next to him. Her appearance shifts slightly; her white dress is now solid black to keep it from getting dirty. Maybe a reflex, maybe because, like her body, it's just something she manifested from the people of her Cosmos that came to this soft place. They all carry her.]
If you want to. I like dogs a lot.
[And pretty much anything?]Â
These soft places are the only ones I can be like this, you know, talking to people in a body. Even if it's not all me. But it's still somewhat me. I guess it doesn't make sense when I put it that way.
no subject
No, it makes perfect sense.
It's the easiest way for you to think of it as yourself, even if it's half-memory, half projection, and a sort of performance art blend of what others expect, allow, and what you want to convey, yes?
no subject
[Elaine waves as the large, three-headed hound appears. Then turns to Lucifer.] What does he eat?
[She nods. It's a little more than that.]
Something like that. This is like an echo and afterimage. But I'm nothing what others expect, not really. [She tried that stuff once. Aroon the Wolf Dog was worshiped among the civilizations of the first world she made, so to talk to them, she got a brief furry phase. She was a cool wolf, though! Big and with soft, grey fur.] I am Me. My will doesn't bend to anyone.
[That's a matter-of-fact truth, not some empty boasting.]
no subject
[Cerberus adores Simeon and Beelz, and while there's some ongoing jokes about how that means Lucifer secretly likes Simeon, in general he just likes people who like dogs and aren't intimidated by someone mildly less scary than Lucifer. And since Lucifer only brings him out with people who don't find Lucifer scary... that's a good clue how it goes.]
People.
[Deadpan. It's a joke, and he knows she'll know it's a joke.]
Just about anything. Except toxic chameleon paste.
[Cerberus whimpers at the word, and Lucifer rolls his eyes.] Relax you big baby, I just said you don't like it.
[Woof -- the hellhound says.]
When I get Ristorante Six with Lord Diavolo, I usually bring him back something, just to hear my brothers whine about him eating better than them. [Sadist.] He's very clever. When I worked too hard before, he ran away to my favorite spots. [A small laugh and he rubs Cerberus under the chins, because we are seriously talking a MASSIVE dog here.]
[Cerberus' grimoire is inaccessible to human eyes, thanks to the spell Lucifer cast on it to keep his fur baby safe. He tells Elaine the favorite foods (as listed in the Grimoire) but it is not for mere mortals to comprehend. See also: curses, words of power, true names, etc.]
Good. As it should be.
["Woof" says Cerberus.]
And the entropy in other places?
no subject
What is his favorite vegetarian snack? [She makes a face and tries again.]
Does anyone like that?
[Not judgy or anything. She's about to ask who Diavolo is supposed to be because that name doesn't ring a bell, but she has a better question before that.]
How many brothers do you have?
[Brother brother or like ceremonial ones, she also wonders. Her uncle was only related to her father, but also called the other angels his brothers. While she waits for him to answer, Elaine holds up a box of Cerbie Snacks, a knock-off Scooby Snacks, but with his pet Cerberus on the cover. Miraculously, the ingredients they are made of are all his favorites, processed for the best nutrient balance. It's obviously not something you can purchase in the supermarket. She just created it on the spot.]
Here you go, big guy.
[She tosses him up one of the skull-shaped biscuits.]
Are you talking about where I come from oooor? [Hard to think about laws of physics as a strict order when you have enfleshed sentient concepts of Death, Destiny, Time, Dreams, and others running around.] Is this about the whole repurposing museum comparison you asked about earlier?
no subject
Devilishly Tasty Minestrone.
There are so many demons, and every single one likes something different. So yes. Some do. The first few years in Devildom, none of us could get over the weird magical foods. And you never know when they'll treat things like being electrocuted or frozen or paralyzed as fun and exciting the way humans like sour or spicy candy. And the names are always so extra. It can't be minestrone, no. It has to be devilishly tasty. [He's not NEARLY as annoyed by it as he pretends, it's obvious, he fucking LOVES IT. TAKE PRIDE in being different! Go balls to the wall with your drama and absurdity!]
6. Those that followed me into Hell. Mammon, Leviathan, Satan -- is more complicated, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor. Satan is a brother, but he was created by Father as a failsafe if I fell. Since it involved fracturing my soul... He... got stuck with a lot of my memories and inside out self-loathing. [Ugh that's about all he feels like explaining about that.] The current Demon King gave us our titles. Avatars of Sins. Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth accordingly. Lord Diavolo is the prince. The current demon king went to the depths of the Abyss in Hell, but Lord Diavolo thinks he might return. Maybe.
Genuinely; however you wish to comprehend and reinterpret it as. Father made me try to always take communication on 16 levels. It gives me migraines, so I don't do that anymore. And yeah sometimes, I get it wrong, but it beats the alternative.
[Woof. One of the hellhound heads just nudges her for more treats and/or headpats. Hard to say.]
no subject
You seem to enjoy the place. [She notes, and sounds lively. Have they ever thought about changing the name? Hell really doesn't have the best implications.
Only six. And yeah, some of those weren't fallen angels home, but demons. Okay. She rolls with it.]
Hold up. Demon King sooo you're working for this Diavolo and his father?
[That's new and she looks surprised he took that deal, because---Right, he's not her uncle, but he seemed to have a lot of pride. No pun intended.]
We do have entropy, sure. [She answers with a shrug. Then she shows him an image of some kind red armored giant dwarfing planets.] This bloke is the Omega Titan Entropy---you can think of him as the sentient embodiment of it. But on a conceptual level, it's a lesser tier than Death or Time. [She doesn't have to show those two, does she? The image dissipates.] The Dream King once said: you either change or die. Not everything can change because they choose not to, because they hit the limits of how they can transform.
[At being nudged, Elaine does both. Multitasking is her forte.]
Not everything can be put in a Museum, either. Well, I could, but I won't.
no subject
Yes. [Both to the enjoying Hell and working for Demon King and son.] Lord Diavolo was a friend before I fell. He also reincarnated Lilith at my behest. The Great Celestial War was... over her exile. Destruction. She fell in love with Adam, and stole golden immortality apples from heaven's gardens to try to heal Adam's sickness.
I told Father the fault was still mine for not training her better or finding a way to stop her. He disagreed.
Ohhhh... Titan right. Hm.
[A small laugh and he shakes his head.] Don't. No one would like that. At most you could make it an opt-in, but if people wanted to be in a museum, they already would be.
no subject
Keep it for later. He shouldn't be stuffing his mouths before dinner. He'll be losing his appetite.
[She nods as he explains that version of the fall, her expression a different shade of confusion when he mentions Lilith falling in love with Adam. But Lilith is doing something really stupid because she fell for someone she shouldn't actually check out too. It doesn't seem that one deserved all she got. It's a disproportionate response. What the hell?]
Yeah, he's right... I mean I don't agree with punishing anyone to save a life, or, like, harshly punishing in general. A lot of lines needed to be crossed for me to get realllllly angry. But you didn't do anything wrong. [She insists, before adding in a soft, resigned voice.] Neither did she, but that's not my call to do.
Omega Titan. [Corrects, grinning] He's not one of those greek pantheon blokes from Earth. He sort of, er, formed momentarily because someone ruptured the Wall of the Source. Long story. Let's skip that. [Superhero territory, she doesn't intervene with them even when the Speeder resets their timeline.]
Naaaah. I don't see myself working as a curator when I'm still adjusting to my new job.
1/2
[Ugh hearing her say that it was unreasonable nearly breaks him. Whatever tough guy or numb facade about her inheriting her grandfather's position just shatters in that one final blow.]
Then... why? Why?!
I don't understand!
[Ugh. He's not cryimg. Don't look at him.] Say she didn't want to be an angel, why is her choice made in doubt and confusion and pain more important than ours?!
Is this all this is? All that's ever been?! We could no longer shield her from the recklessness of the consequences of her own actions?! Is this supposed to be kindness?!
[Even now millennia later, a shockwave ripples out from him, all the pain and anguish, and unbearable grief and rage. That sparked a single cataclysmic event to spark so many other chain reactions.]
[And all Lucifer's father seems to say in return is a distant warm "I love you" of comfort that sometimes Lucifer rejects, but mostly just ignores.]
GROOOAAAAHHHRR!
[Despite spending most of his time with Lilith's memorial, Cerberus has never actually seen Lucifer lose the facade like this, very VERY few ever have, he's always too proud and strictly collected and controlled. If Elaine doubted he believed her whole-heartedly, doubt no further.] How does one angel's actions damn humanity?! How does it endanger all of creation?!
[If there were clocks or sensors of any kind, they'd all be going completely haywire, the outburst threatening everything and creating a tangible pressure, the reason Cerberus doesn't acknowledge the brothers as much, no matter WHAT Lucifer says, but is forever deeply scared of the Avatar of Pride.]
2/2
[Woof.]
[It takes a lot longer than he'd like for his black almost miasmic aura to calm the fuck down. But eventually it does, just needing peace and quiet where he can just be for a moment.]
Sorry you had to see that.
[More rough pets for Cerberus, almost slaps, as the hellhound practically tries to bowl Lucifer over with head nudges. Truly no mortal coukd withstand, but Lucifer doesn't budge an inch. All pride, maybe arrogance, unyielding. More than ever. A constant.]
[Titans, titans, titans.]
No, I was thinking more how other universes have realms created by titans and so on. Turtles the whole way up and down. Having me, trying to explain Father is not one... like I can be any kind of messenger for Him at this point. [Arm fold.]
[He knows he himself is Lucifer, where he comes from, where he's going.]
[He will never bother trying to convince anyone anything. There's no point. The discovery is in the journey.]
no subject
[And seeing that emotional reaction nearly takes her aback. Not just because of the depth of the emotional agony, but because he's openly displaying it on her face. She's at a loss for words for a couple of seconds, until she admits sadly.]
I don't know. [She stays sitting by his side, one hand still stroking one of Cerberus' heads. She doesn't want to startle him with a hug, even if he does seem he really needs one.] I can tell you everything of why things happen where I come from because my Name holds it together, but I don't know your Creation at all. Your Father wouldn't know about my perspective either, just like I can't answer you about his. Or Grandfather's. Which I got partly just greatly disagreed on some crucial points. The way of how and why run things is different because we're not the same people.
[Gods. Whatever. The anti-drool umbrella that's floating aboveher head turns into a tissue; she offers it without looking at him. He can keep his illusion of pride, but Elaine doesn't think it matters when he's like that.]
But I won't say your feelings are wrong, okay? Unless they destroy you and others, nobody should admonish you because you are upset and confused.
[That's understandable. She never agrees with that greater good while trampling on unwilling people. The only one she was okay to sacrifice was herself. He's lucky she's dispelling any pressure he creates to avoid disturbing this already fragile, orphaned place.]
Don't sweat it. [Her eyes drift from the hound to Lucifer's face. Deep breaths would help a lot.] I think you needed to take it out of your chest.
[She nods, and remembers turtles carrying worlds are a common mythology theme.]
Oh, maybe---Like we have all the manners of gods and some at home. And not just from Earth, but they aren't the Creator, even if they have their own pantheon and followers. But a lot...well, they rely on people believing they exist to be like that. While, in my case, it's the other way around.
[She cringes slightly, because she knows the weight of what she's saying. Her job is to allow everyone's existence, nothing more or less.]
no subject
And then the gears turn faster, and all but freeze.]
You're God's anchor.
[A whisper, a prayer, a hope beyond all measure. A light bulb epiphany. Like something has finally finally clicked. What was wrong in his gears.]
[He's FAR more awed than the words mught suggest, FAR more awed than simply thinking of her as God, or the woman who took on the job when no one else had the wherewithal to do it.]
[And he starts laughing, a different laugh then, but more jubilant than church bells, all amused, less of the psychotic manic cynical rage of his normal.]
Great, great lady.
[He takes her hand and kisses the top before holding it in both, cherishing her. He can't bring himself to kneel, definitely not bow, but he's still doing his best to be A KNIGHT OR PRINCE -- though he knows his attitude flip must really be confusing her.]
[Though he can't stop laughing almost hysterically -- cry laughing.] No wonder he wanted you to do nothing...
[He's already too all over the place, he knows, but still, the look he gives Elaine, like he's seeing her for the first time, but how she really is, not even how she thinks she is.]
You don't know, do you? How could you?
[Okay, he has to think. To translate it.]
We don't live in the material plane. We can only exist on Earth with humans to anchor us. To see us. To not so much believe, their skepticism doesn't undermine us, we still are, but by resonating with us, we're enhanced, and can reach those planes we're not otherwise an innate part of.
Dear great lady.
[Both hands behind his back, he tilts his head forward to lean to almost touching hers, with her choice to allow, or move, of course.]
You are so much more wonderful than Father, your grandfather, or any of them. As a human with a demon pact enhances our magic, you allow all versions of father to be.
You enhance creation.
[It's awed again, for more than talking to any God, Creator, Father, or... well anyone else for that matter! He's floored, almost not believing she's real, but jubilant, because clearly she IS. He doesn't want to overwhelm her, but he's so triumphant and happy, and debating punching other versions of himself who don't get TM.]
Please... my brothers, don't forget them. They're not the same elsewhere but... all of them. Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor. As long as you know and always remember their names.... [Then they're saved. They won't be destroyed. They can't be, by anything. A fragment he can find and piece out of the void will always be.] Just please try. [He wants to do anything she could ever want. He almost manically laughs again, but keeps it inside, because his Father would never explain anything ever to him just so Lucifer could make his own choices. "I get it now. Just this one joke."]
You can't directly --- do things. You must work within others' hearts. That is your limitation.
But you are so much more important than any God could ever be. You make him important. I don't know how to explain it better. "Anchor" seems a bit rude, is there something you'd prefer better?